Contents Introduction 6 Shopping How Embarrassing 8 Pack It or Toss It 8 Money in Our Pockets 9 Work Nah 11 Share or Else 13 Please Please Please Shop 13 Crash 14 A Mall in the Living Room 16 Funny Money 18 We Demand a Big Supply 19 Paying for What 20 Money Talks 21 More or Less 23 Where to Put It All 23 Paying the Price 24 A New Kind of Rich 25 chapter one pssst don't tell anyone chapter two New and improved
Everyone’s Share 26 Borrowing a Bit 26 Super Sweat 29 Free the Children 29 To the Rescue 31 From Books to Blenders 33 I'll Trade Ya 34 The Moneyless Man 36 The Share Scare 37 Freecycling Wheeee 37 Growin in My Neighborhood 38 Which Book Are You 40 Time in the Bank 41 Hidden Riches 42 Pass It On 43 Resources 44 Acknowledgments 45 Glossary 46 Index 47 chapter three feeling like a million bucks chapter four now that's rich
Have you ever walked along the shampoo aisle in a drug store and wondered which bottle to choose You’re not alone It’s often hard to know which product to spend your money on Over the years I’ve lived in small places where stores offered very few options When I ran out of shampoo in Peru for example I bought the only kind sold in the village shop When I returned to Canada I felt completely overwhelmed the moment I walked into a store So many things to choose from And so few that I really needed Years later I wondered how our purchases affect the environment Factories use Earth’s resources to create products and when we don’t want an item anymore we often toss it into the landfill How would the world look if we bought less stuff Lately I’ve been reading about creative ways that people meet their needs without buying much at all It’s all about community Did you know that if you want a blender in Toronto Ontario you can borrow one from the Kitchen Library Or that in Kenya families share a small amount of money some times less than twenty-five dollars to start entire businesses And strong communities aren’t just fun to live in They’re good for the environment and can reduce poverty too How Grab a friend and a snack to share come along and find out On a summer evening my family loves gardening in our parking spot especially because neighbors always come by to chat GASTON CASTANO Introduction 6
7 Do we really need so many options PINDIYATH100 DREAMSTIME COM My university dorm room was tiny I didn’t have my own kitchen or bathroom and I loved it Sharing space meant great conversations in the cafeteria and drinking hot chocolate with housemates in the living room down the hall These days I sometimes joke that our apartment building reminds me of my university dorm and I mean that in a good way In university my dormitory room looked out onto this cherry tree ELLEN GONELLA My Two Cents Worth 7
